The Maid Cafe
by IttyBittyTidbits
Summary: When the boys of the Kainan basketball team decided to do something for their resident three-pointer's eighteenth birthday, they agreed that corruption was the way to go. First stop? The maid cafe.
1. Prologue

The Maid Cafe

**Disclaimer: Slam Dunk and all of its characters belong to Inoue Takehiko-sensei. I only ownmy OCs. This disclaimer applies to all the succeeding chapters as well. **

**Prologue: Welcome Home, Master!**

Corrupting him, corrupting him. For weeks now, that was what Jin Soichiro had heard his teammates constantly laugh about in their whispered conversations. He was known as the good boy: the one who turned in his homework pronto and finished them way before the deadline; the one who always made time to study every night even if he was already wiped out from basketball practise. There was no doubt about it: Jin Soichiro was Kainan's resident saint. And Kiyota and his cronies were out to corrupt him.

What was even more surprising was that they got Maki not only to stay quiet about the plan, but, more importantly, to become a co-conspirator. The day before his birthday, Jin saw his stern-faced superior try to swallow a grin. He instantly knew that his fate was sealed.

~010101~

"Miku-chan! Miku-chan! We're having some really important visitors today!" Arisa, a small, round-faced girl, announced with an extra bounce in her step. The curly pink wig she chose to don that day swished around her cat ears as she whirled around in search of her missing order pad.

The other girl, Miku, attempted to zip herself up in her uniform. "Every master is important, Arisa-chan."

Arisa let out a triumphant cry, bopped her head on a lower cupboard, and fell on her bottom on the cafe floor, looking dazed. "Ite..."

"Mattaku, Arisa-chan..." the head maid, Ai, sighed, sailing in from the front of the cafe. She crouched down to stuff the childlike Arisa's order pad and pen into her apron pocket. "You've got to be more careful. Heads are not for hitting on hard surfaces, you know?"

"Gomen ne, Oneechan."

Arisa was just getting a sympathetic cuddle from Ai when Miku laughed. "That's better re-enacted in front of the patrons. So moe! I heard some of the customers talking about that yesterday."

She received a wink and a grin from the head maid. "Arisa-chan will have no problem needing comfort later on. Just wish she doesn't break anything. We need all the matching teacups we can get our hands on."

"Or we could throw a mad hatter tea party!" Arisa announced, suddenly pain-free. She jumped to her feet, pulling the head maid with her. "Think about it, Neechan! We won't have a problem with mismatching teacups anymore!"

"We'll have to carry a Sweet Lolita theme then."

The chime over the service door tinkled and Asuo, the head butler, poked his head into the backroom-slash-kitchen. "Miku-chan, your masters are home." He had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Ganbatte kudasai, Miku-chan!" Arisa piped up, waving as the head maid neatly knotted Miku's apron and pushed her out of the backroom.

"What's that smile for, Asuo?" Miku muttered under her breath as she passed by the grinning butler.

He nodded at a corner spot, conveniently screened away from the rest of the cafe by two potted palms. "Your masters are right over...there." Miku's breath hitched in her throat. Even without the jackets, the group was unmistakable.

"Oh, my..."

"Jin-san. That's his name, isn't it?"

Now she sorely regretted ever playing that truth or dare game with them. Miku let herself be nudged forward by Asuo, pasting on the most cheerful smile she could come up with while stilling the beating in her chest. The other maids and butlers paused from their conversations with their respective masters to shoot her supportive grins as she passed by their tables. Miku tried to ignore them all.

"Okaerinasaimase, goshujin-sama!"

Seven eager faces turned to her. Miku smiled at all of them politely, then let her eyes wander to the expressionless Maki, who acknowledged her with a nod, and the embarrassed Jin, who could barely meet her eyes. She had a vague idea of who dragged Jin down to a maid cafe, but could not find it in herself to believe that Maki was one to be dragged anywhere, nor was he the type who would willingly go to a maid cafe. Then again, she thought, studying his calm face, she could always be wrong.

"How may Miku-chan help her masters today?" she smiled cutely, tilting her head as she whipped out her order pad and pen.

"Eh...You can stay forever, Miku-chan," one of the boys sighed, chin dreamily propped up his palm. He got an elbow to the ribs by the boy beside him.

"Shall I serve my masters coffee or tea?"

"Tea," came the general chorus.

"Coffee. Straight black," Maki replied quietly, a corner of his mouth twitching upwards as he watched Kanagawa's three-pointer machine squirm in discomfort.

"Hai," Miku replied. She looked at Jin expectantly. "And Master..."

"Jin," the boy nearest her supplied. Like she didn't already know his name.

"Master Jin," she repeated. "What can Miku-chan get you?"

He looked up, met Maki's laughing gaze, turned to Miku, and whipped his head right back down to stare at the table. "Coffee," he mumbled.

"Hai, Master."

Red stained his cheeks. "C-call me Jin. Not...not..."

"Not 'Master'?"

The red spread to his ears. He shook his head. "No."

"As you wish, Jin-sama."

His teammates broke out in laughter. She was excusing herself when a boy with wild hair, who she recognized as the super rookie the basketball team had recruited that year, motioned for her to lean down. Miku complied. The boy shot a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure Jin wasn't paying attention and whispered,

"It's his birthday today. Jin-san's."

Her eyes lit up as a broad grin broke across her face. "Of course," she said, bowing again. When she straightened up, she came eye to eye with Maki. The captain smiled.

~010101~

As soon as their waitress disappeared behind the service room door, Kainan's love-struck teenage boys began talking about her. Personally, he preferred to just let his subordinates' testosterone-charged discussion about vital statistics and bra size drift by unheard. Boys would be boys, after all. He thought, though, that Kiyota would just jump right into the fray, and was surprised when, sounding uncharacteristically thoughtful he piped up instead, "You know, Miku-chan looks awfully familiar."

At once, all conversation halted as the boys looked at each other in turn, and then stared at Kiyota. "You know Miku-chan?"

"No. But I feel like I've seen her somewhere."

"Me, too," Jin added.

The boys laughed. A particularly obnoxious one leaned across the table to whisper, "You'll know her better when she come back, Jin-san. We made sure of that."

Maki raised an eyebrow and thought he should comment, but Miku chose that moment to re-emerge from the backroom with a butler bearing a tray of drinks. When everyone was served she presented Jin a small cake with "Happy Birthday" written in icing on it.

"Omedeto otanjobi, Jin-sama!"

The greeting caught him off guard. Heat flooded his face. His teammates were about to start laughing at him again when the butler, coming to the rescue, whipped out a long-stemmed rose, put it between his teeth, and fell to his knees, hands clasped to his chest in the most dramatic shoujo manga gesture.

"Oh, my dearest Miku-chan! How you pain me! Why must you set your lovely eyes and give away your beautiful smile to another when I have languished in years for that honour! My Miku-chan!"

The whole cafe fell silent. Female patrons from the other tables giggled.

"Gure-san knows that my heart can belong only to my masters and to Arashi."

Jin watched on with wide, uncomprehending eyes. Maki coughed to hide a laugh.

"And you have torn away _my _heart! Gure-san! I used to be Gure-chan to you! Why have we drifted apart?"

Suddenly, unexpectedly, a voice from the front of the cafe rang out, "Let me put your heart back together, Gure-sama!" and the impromptu actors turned around to see one of their regulars, a junior high girl who professed to love the dramatizing Shigure. At the sight of her, Shigure's jaw dropped, which made the rose fall out of his mouth. Laughter erupted from the other tables. Making a big show out of collecting his dignity, the butler drew himself up straight and flourished a bow at his regular customer. Then he spun on his heel, raised Miku's hand to his lips and murmured, "I shall always be yours, my darling," before running off, rose in hand, to greet his mistress. He looked so much like the martyred hero that the female customers sighed amongst themselves. One even dabbed at her eyes.

Miku barely caught the nod Shigure gave Jin as the former escorted his mistress to her seat. She wasn't entirely sure it was for Jin until she returned her attention back to her table and saw his face soften with gratitude. Shigure had saved him from another unwonted embarrassment.

"Sumimasen," she smiled, picking up the tray her colleague had dropped on the floor. "Gure-san can get very...passionate sometimes."

"And what can you get very passionate about, Miku-chan?" one of the boys asked.

She already knew what they wanted to hear. With a coy little giggle she replied, "I'm very passionate about serving my masters, Master."

Feeling that they were going to get sidetracked very soon Maki endeavoured to speak up. "With regards to serving masters..." he trailed off, not particularly wanting to say the next part. Luckily, Kiyota caught his drift, blurting out, "–Jin-san needs a little help with his food!" and jumping up before the older boy could protest.

Miku looked at the newly vacated seat hesitantly. They weren't supposed to make their customers uncomfortable. But when she glanced up, she met Jin's eyes.

"May I?"

He held her eyes for a second longer before finally nodding. Miku slipped beside him, her skirt fanning out over his leg. She hoped he didn't notice. But Jin did, and he tucked it back at her side. Her heart thumped. She could swear she felt his touch underneath all those layers of crinoline.

"Milk?" her voice wavered a little.

"Yes, please." Now she was wishing he wouldn't notice her trembling fingers. He did again, unfortunately, but only because they were shaking so much. His hands wrapped around hers. "It's okay. I'll get it."

She was rather thankful that he did because she knew she would have dropped the milk boat. Her next breath came in sharply. "Thank you."

He smiled, and for the first time she noticed how close she was to the doe eyes she had been admiring from afar for the past months. "No problem."

This time, the blush spread across _her _cheeks.

**~010101~**

**Nya! A new fic again! I've been toying with this idea for a while. It started out as a MakixOC pairing, but that didn't work out...bleh. So then I tried Sendo...and that was even worse. Finally, I turned to Jin. I had actually just finished writing another Jin fic last month, but that felt inadequate ****(not to mention he's my new boytoy)****. I do hope I'll be able to bring out his character better in this piece. :)**

**Please do read and review, minna-san. I shall need your criticisms.**

**Happy reading!**

**Love, Tibbits.**


	2. Chapter 1: Hai, Master!

Chapter 1: Hai, Master!

"Mitamura! You know the school doesn't approve dyeing hair!"

Jin flinched instinctively, though the reprimand wasn't directed at him. Maybe it was because he was so rarely told off that he wasn't used to the sound of another getting whipped. Bowing to the teachers in the faculty room, he shut the door quietly and proceeded to weave through the cubicles in search of his advisor.

"But my hair's been this way for at least a month now!" a petulant female voice replied. Jin emerged at the edge of his teacher's workspace to find said teacher looming right over a small girl. One hand was parked defiantly at her hip, and she flipped red-brown locks over her shoulder with the other. "Besides, I'm just exercising my right to self-expression. There's a law granting that right, you know?"

The teacher let out a frustrated half-scream. Jin thought it best to intervene before anything untoward happened. "Sumimasen, Yamamoto-sensei."

The middle-aged math teacher turned, angry look relaxing a little at the sight of his favourite student. "Oh, there you are." Then he glared back at the girl he was scolding, "My best student volunteered to tutor you. It would do you plenty of good to learn from his example."

Jin could imagine the offender pouting. "I don't have to change. Rei-nii likes me the way I am. He told me so."

The older man snorted. "Rei? Why, that's because you're exactly like him!"

Jin couldn't see the girl's face, but he saw her hand drop from her hip, saw her draw herself up straighter. In a surprisingly icy tone she hissed, "And _what_ is wrong with Rei-nii?"

"He's a slacker!" Yamamoto thundered. "Not at all like Ranmaru!"

"Well he _did_ get into Tokyo U, unlike _somebody_ I know."

The teacher spluttered angrily, but his student merely sidestepped him. As a final insult, she glanced at him over her shoulder, sneering, "Thank you, but I don't need a tutor if he's going to be like you. Good day, sensei."

Yamamoto whipped around just as she shoved past Jin. His furious voice rang throughout the whole faculty room. "Mitamura! Detention for a month!"

The only reply he got was a slammed door.

Licking his lips, Jin edged farther from his teacher. "Excuse me, sensei. I'll...I'll go talk to her."

"It's no use, Jin," Yamamoto sighed, collapsing into a chair. "That girl will be the death of me," he muttered under his breath. Louder, "Mitamura never listens to anyone. She's got brains, but she hates using them. Plays video games and watches anime all day. She's hopeless."

"I'll try to reason with her anyway," he bowed, excusing himself.

Jin was downtrodden as he navigated the emptying halls of Kainan's High School department. Of course he didn't expect a vacation when he volunteered to tutor wayward students for extra credit points, but the scene he just witnessed was certainly not something he thought could ever happen. Not during his first day on the job, and most especially not from someone who wasn't Kiyota.

He sighed. All the classrooms were empty. For a minute he considered checking the detention hall but figured that if someone was very angry with a teacher, she wouldn't be bothered to obey him. Not particularly when she had a right to be upset.

Jin was moving on to another hall when he caught a flash of copper near the stairwell. Backtracking a couple of steps, he found the person he was looking for. Her head rested against the wall, and she was nodding slowly.

"Yeah, so now I've got detention for a month. Come get me, Onii."

There was a pause, during which Jin thought he heard her sniffle. Her back was turned to him so he couldn't be sure, but he thought she raised an arm to swipe at her eyes. She nodded again. "Um. Okay. I understand. Bye." Very slowly, the mobile phone slipped back into her blazer pocket, and her head found her arms.

Jin waited a few seconds before saying, "Mitamura-san?"

She didn't reply. He approached slowly and folded himself onto the top step beside her – close enough to be friendly, but not too close to be intrusive. "Go away."

"I'm here to help."

"Yeah, you're just the new tutor Yamamoto bribed to tell me what countless other tutors have told me before."

"What's that?"

Mitamura's arms tightened around her raised knees. Her voice was bitter when she replied, "That I'm too stupid and that nothing will ever come of me?"

A frown knotted Jin's forehead. "That's not true."

"Yamamoto's a dick. His favourite students would be, too. Duh."

She probably didn't realize that she just insulted him with that remark. But far from being affronted, Jin actually smiled a little. "I'd like to accompany you to detention, but my captain would skin me alive if I show up late to practice. So if you get bored, maybe you'll stop by the gym and watch?"

"I'm in _detention_," she replied acidly, but then hiccuped.

So she really was crying. He handed her his handkerchief. She ignored him. "Just go away. Go be busy with practice or something and forget about me."

"I can't do that, Mitamura-san. What if someone comes running and accidentally pushes you down the stairs?"

"What do you think this is? A shoujo manga? Do I look like a helpless damsel in distress?" But she sounded less bitter already.

"Come with me to practice, at least. I'm sure you don't want to be cooped up in a classroom all by yourself for the next hour."

"No," she agreed quietly. Mitamura lifted her head. Then she dashed a sleeve across her eyes. Jin offered his handkerchief again. She took it this time and turned to smile at him. "Thank..." but the words died on her tongue.

Jin stared at her, equally dumbfounded. His jaw hung slack.

"Jin...sama...?"

Something clicked in his head, and the face he had last seen three months ago suddenly popped back into his mind, sharp and clear. Without intending to he blurted out, "Miku-chan?"

~010101~

"Ooh, Rei-nii, my head hurts terribly!"

From the study table at one corner of his room, Mitamura Ranmaru raised an eyebrow. "She must really be sick if she can't even slouch to watch Lucky Star," the eldest of the siblings commented, never looking up from his textbook. His twin, Rei, knelt on the floor at the edge of the bed, patting his only sister's forehead.

"My poor baby," he lamented over and over. "Yamamoto-sensei's on a rampage. Somebody should stop his heartless decrying of faults. It's treason, I tell you! Treason!"

"It's slander, Rei," came the monotone correction from the desk at the corner.

"Treason's just as bad, Ran-nii." Forgetting her ailment, Shizuka suddenly shot upright and grabbed her favourite brother's hand. "He should be banished forever!"

"Exiled!"

"You two just shut up and finish Final Fantasy."

As if she never heard Ranmaru's admonition, Shizuka slid down the bed to plop down beside Rei. "But do you know something, Nii-chan? When I was talking to you over the phone after that dastardly Yamamoto screamed his throat raw at me –"

"– I should have been there to protect you, Shi-chan!"

"I badly wished you were there, Rei-nii!" she wailed back. And, launching themselves into each other's arms, the siblings clung to each other in a deathly embrace, while from his desk Ranmaru massaged the bridge of his nose. Finally putting his book down he spun around on his swivel chair.

"Constituents, please. Let us focus. Shizuka, you were saying?"

"Oh. Yeah." They disentangled themselves. "I've got a new tutor." Ranmaru's eyes narrowed. He still remembered exactly how her past tutors had her running home in tears. Catching his look Shizuka immediately interjected, "Oh no! He's different! Jin-san's kind. He didn't want me to be all alone at detention, so we went to the gym so I could watch while he trained. And..." she paused for dramatic effect. Her twin brothers exchanged looks. If there was one thing studious Ranmaru and bubble-headed Rei got serious about, it was their little sister.

"...guess what?"

"What?" Ranmaru repeated warily.

"They remembered me from the cafe!"

Rei looked pleased. Ranmaru heaved a sigh of relief. After all, it wasn't anything he had to worry about. Now he could complacently get his noisy siblings out of his room. "Hey, Rei, Shi-chan, what happened to that new cosplay you guys are supposed to be working on?"

They stared at each other for what seemed like a very long time. Rei laughed a stuttering little laugh. "To think I forgot about it. When do we need it again, Shi-chan?"

Shizuka turned to her brother. "In two weeks."

"I haven't sanded the pendants and the sleeve clips yet."

"And I...forgot to paint the staff."

"Crap!" As one, Rei and Shizuka bolted out, thundering down the stairs, out the front door, and into the garage. Ranmaru watched them go. He was wearing a big smile when he spun back to his desk and picked up his book. Peace and quiet at last.

~010101~

"Isn't it a little too early to be reviewing for college entrance exams?"

Jin shot a mild smile at his classmate and resumed stacking his old notes. Classes had just been let out. "It's not for me. I volunteered as a student tutor."

"Like you need the extra credit." The classmate, Tetsuo, thumbed through the notes. "So who are you tutoring?"

"Mitamura Shizuka-san."

A surprised look came over the other boy's face. "Mitamura from Year one, class four?"

"The very same."

Tetsuo burst into an laughter, slapping Jin on the back in his excess of mirth. "You've had it bad! Mitamura's all face and no brains! I taught her the last time. She likes being difficult. Heard she works in a cosplay restaurant, though."

"She does," Jin replied matter-of-factly.

The other boy's grin turned into a leer. "Let me know when you elicit a 'Yes, Master' out of her. She looks like a hot little thing."

"I'm not sure that's a very polite thing to say."

"You'll change your mind once she's called you 'Master' and served you afternoon tea!"

The shuffling abruptly stopped. Jin looked up with a disapproving frown. "Shizuka-san is a very nice girl. If you'd cared to know her better, I wouldn't have to tell you all this." And excusing himself, he brushed past Tetsuo.

He found her, as expected, not in the detention hall, but in her classroom, slumped over her desk, to all appearances fast asleep. Jin joined her soundlessly, drawing up the chair in front of her desk. Worried that she might not be feeling well, he gingerly felt her hand, and then her forehead.

"Level up potion!" she cried, starting awake. Then, realizing where she was, she blinked sleepily at Jin and halfheartedly ran a hand through her rumpled hair. "Oh. Senpai."

"Have a good dream?" he asked good-naturedly, settling his notes on the table between them.

"I was. But then _that_," she grimaced at the pile, "came along." Stifling a yawn, "Gosh, I almost ended up spending the night here."

"No one woke you up when class let out?"

She shook her head. "They don't bother."

"But –"

"Change of topic!" she cut him off. "Ne, ne, wanna see what I've been working on?" Without waiting for a reply she dug out a box from her book bag and lifted out a painstakingly sculpted pendant the size of her hand. "It still needs to be painted, though. I finished it in Government!"

His awe melted into a shake of the head. "You should have been listening in class."

"But it's so boring!" Returning her masterpiece to its rightful place, she added so quietly Jin nearly didn't hear her, "Nobody cares whether I'm awake or asleep anyway."

"I care," he replied in the same subdued tones. She didn't reply, but he saw her motions freeze and knew that she heard him. When Shizuka looked up again she was smiling. A faint blush coloured her cheeks.

"You're really nice, Senpai, so I don't want you to be disappointed."

He tilted his head questioningly.

"I'll come clean." Leaning forward conspiratorially she urged him to do the same and whispered, "I'm every tutor's nightmare! The only one who can stand me is my biggest brother Ran-nii, and that's only because he knows which buttons to push."

Jin looked at her very seriously. "Then I'll just have to learn from the expert."

She broke out into a peal of laughter. The sound warmed him; made him feel that they were finally getting somewhere. "Shizuka-san, I thought I'd surprise you and talked to the office this morning."

The laughter stopped. "The office?" Going in there meant she messed up again. The office was the place where the principal rebuked and parents cried and reasoned and yelled about grades. She's never liked the office. Distrust crept into her eyes.

But Jin was sure she would like his news. He nodded. "I got you a change of schedule. You won't be having Yamamoto-sensei for math from now on."

Relief washed over her. She was so happy she ran around her desk and threw her arms around him, squealing her thanks. It was only for a moment, though. Before Jin could begin to process what was happening, Shizuka released them both. She moved several steps backwards, away from him, and couldn't meet his eyes. "Sorry. It's just...that was...that was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Ever."

"It was nothing." Tetsuo was wrong. Shizuka wasn't difficult at all.

~010101~

The best thing she liked about working in the gym was that its immense size made her feel invisible. Her favourite spot was the gym wall behind the sideline benches, where she had a very clear view of afternoon practise, unobstructed by the jostling bodies of the fans that regularly came to watch. Viewed from her wall, the court to her was like a magic movie screen where the faraway actors would step out of when break time was called. Break time was her favourite and least favourite part.

She liked how break time brought Jin back to her side, but she hated how she had to put down whatever project she was working on to pretend to be absorbed in math again. Because math was just...unspeakably horrendous.

On the upside of things, she had never been caught cheating before. Oh, once or twice she saw Maki-senpai eye her with that wryly amused look of his. She offered him an innocent smile. When he winked back, she was certain then that they were accomplices, and that he would never spill her secret.

Today was a different day, though, because three very important things were happening all at once: Jin-senpai was going to captain the team that would be playing against Maki-senpai's, she had a ton of math homework to finish, and she promised her Rei-nii to clean up his cuff hems. Shizuka wanted to do them all at once. As usual, homework was allowed to slide off her lap as she worked with stapling the fabric straight while keeping her eyes firmly glued on the game. In her private opinion, Jin-senpai was the coolest, best three-pointer in the whole world. Of course, she had never actually seen other three-pointers apart from him, but that was beside the point and null.

Watching Jin score three-pointers and go head-to-head against Maki made Shizuka think of the day they first met. The collected senpai on court was so different from the blushing, stuttering senpai she served in the cafe. And when she thought about the then kind of senpai and then thought about the this kind of senpai, one thing became beautifully clear: she liked both kinds of senpai. Perhaps one day she would gather up the nerve to tell him just like in–

A sudden, sharp pain broke through her thoughts. Dazedly, Shizuka stared down at her lap. The stapler was hanging right off her finger.

She squeaked, pushing away her brother's cuffs before blood could drip onto them. Just as she was thinking what to do next, Maki-senpai's voice boomed clear across the gym, calling break time. Her eyes instantly shot towards the untouched math homework, and then back at the heavily breathing players slowly evacuating towards the sidelines. Something warm splattered on her knee. She looked down. Her finger was bleeding profusely.

She couldn't help it, then. She panicked. Ripping the stapler off her finger, she hastily wrapped the injured limb with a handkerchief. The cut throbbed painfully.

Unfamiliar shoes loped into her peripheral vision. Near it lay the bloody stapler she had carelessly flung away. She reached for it at the same time a voice said, "Shizuka-sa..." trailed away, and continued with a gasp, "Blood!"

The gym plummeted into silence. Shizuka guiltily looked up to see Kiyota Nobunaga's white face. She tried to grin. "Hey."

Needless to say, she learned a very important lesson that day: cheating brings its own karma.

But it was worth the epiphany. And it brought Jin running, at the very least.

**~010101~**

**A/N: Choppy. And too fast in my opinion. But the twins have made their first appearance, and the relationships are being blocked out now...I think. I hope. Reviews would be nice. :D**


	3. Chapter 2: Maid a la Carte

Chapter 2: Maid a la Carte

Shizuka's hand froze. Very slowly, she put her pencil down and followed the cream envelope before her to the perfectly manicured hands that held it, up a crisp blazer sleeve, until she finally got to Naomi Fujiwara's pretty face.

"Can I help you?" Naomi was one of those model look-alikes whose frightening forwardness could only be matched by her pretty face.

"I hear Jin-Senpai's been tutoring you after school."

The other girl dared raise her eyebrows. "That's right."

Naomi smirked down at her, exchanged looks with her best friend, and shook her cream letter envelope at Shizuka. "Be a darling and give this to him, will you?"

She opened her mouth to protest, but Naomi spun back to her seat at the front of the room, waving an airy "Thanks!" Shizuka was left to stare at the thing at the edge of her desk until at last, she picked it up, tucked it into the pages of her history book, and stared out the window, contemplating the most graceful way of handing Jin the letter.

Naomi didn't even give her the chance to say she wouldn't be seeing Jin that afternoon.

But that was in the morning. And the day was steadily progressing to lower and lower depths. Maki had called practise an hour early, so Kiyota told her that Jin wouldn't be able to work with her that afternoon. She had been looking forward to presenting him the completed worksheets, too.

Work wasn't much better, either. Her distraction over Jin made her walk right into the wall instead of through the doors into the backroom. And as if that wasn't enough, she zoned off the middle of a conversation with a customer, missed the rest of whatever he was complaining about, and got told off about being insensitive. She went home nursing aching ribs, thanks in part to having to move around in a too-tight corset, in dire need of consolation. But even that was denied her. Sweet words were too far beneath Ranmaru's class, and Rei was too caught up in a new play to be bothered.

That night, Shizuka had time only to scribble one word in her journal: _Senpai_.

Tuesday morning came, and with it hopes of a brighter, luckier day. Then Shizuka took one look at her bag, scrabbled around it, and finally had to accept the sad fact that she left both her lunch and her wallet at home. Internally wailing at the injustice of it all, she slumped over her book bag, listening as her classmates trickled out of the classroom on their way, no doubt, to the cafeteria. Pretty soon, the echo of voices faded down the hall, leaving her very much aware of her pathetic state.

Then, and only then, did she bemoan her sad fate. She would have liked to go on and on, but footsteps thundered once more in the hall outside. She stopped to listen. The classroom door slid open with a loud bang and the next thing she heard was a puzzled voice asking, "Shizuka-san?"

"Oh. You forgot something, Kiyota-kun?" She replied, head still buried in her books.

"Yeah, I..." he trailed off. "Look, are you okay? Stapled your hand again or something?"

"I'm good. Thanks for asking."

"Then why do you look so down?" A pleasant voice asked.

Her head shot up. "Senpai! What are you doing here?"

"Kiyota insisted I come back with him," Jin replied, tilting his head towards the wild-haired rookie. "Said I was more effective at finding things."

Shizuka's eyes widened and watered. Jin once again marvelled at her uncanny ability to mimic anime. "Oh, Senpai! I haven't seen you in the longest time!"

"Missed him, huh?" Kiyota grinned, nudging his upperclassman in the ribs. The older boy reddened.

"Why are you here by yourself, Shizuka-san?" he asked, reverting the topic to anything but himself.

She felt her cheeks grow hot. Grabbing her books, she shoved them all into her bag, making a big show of rearranging them. "I...um...I wasn't hungry." Noticing Jin's skeptical face she hastily stammered, "I mean – I'm not supposed to be eating. Some friends of mine are...um...organizing a photo shoot. Soon. So I've...I should be...On. A. Diet." Her ears were practically smoking.

"That's not healthy..." Jin was saying before Kiyota interrupted him with a loud laugh.

"Admit it. You left your lunch money at home Shizuka-san!"

"No!" Her denial was too hasty. Jin looked distressed. He liked looking distressed a lot. Shizuka privately thought it was because he knew that when he pulled that face, he could get her to change her mind about practically anything. She tried very hard not to look at that face now, snapping her bag closed and pushing it under her desk. But as she did so, down tumbled the history book she had forgotten on the edge of her desk. A flash of cream peeked out between its crushed pages. Jin stooped to pick it up, but Shizuka was out of her chair in an instant. Tossing the book onto her table, she pocketed the envelope and ran out the classroom with the barest of excuses. Kiyota and Jin both stared after her.

The former blinked at his friend. "Maybe...I should have kept my mouth shut?"

Jin lost his distressed look and settled for shaking his head. "Maybe you should have, Kiyota-kun. Maybe you should have."

~010101~

Jin was rarely impatient for class to end. Heck, he was rarely impatient for anything. But that particular afternoon, he couldn't seem to stop glancing up at the clock at the front of the room every thirty seconds or so. It was unusual. Hikari sensei was one of his favourite teachers. A fresh graduate, he made grammar sound so colourful. But Jin was just not in the mood for his anecdotes. Not that afternoon.

Ever since lunch break when Shizuka ran out of her room, he had been unable to stop thinking about her. Finally, he just stopped writing to stare out the window. Dark rain clouds gathered over Kainan, threatening rain. If it rained, he thought, would she still hide?

"...and over there we see an honour student finally break. He's staring blankly out the window, folks..."

The echo of laughter all around him finally brought him back to reality. Jin realized that he had been daydreaming conspicuously, chin in palm. "Sumimasen, sensei."

Hikari waved his apology away. "Everybody needs a break, Jin-san. Even you." The bell rang just then. Jin wasted no time getting out of his classroom.

First stop was year one, class four. He hovered around the doorway, trying to see over the anonymous giggling heads to the seat at the back of the room. It was empty. Kiyota was weaving his way through the desks.

"Looking for Shizuka-san?"

He nodded.

"You just missed her." Kiyota stepped right out into the hall and jabbed a finger in the direction of the stairs. Throwing his teammate a sly smirk, "You didn't do anything...inappropriate did you, Jin-san?"

"Of course not," he replied briskly. Kiyota instantly knew it wasn't the time for jokes.

"Good luck looking, then," he shrugged, watching the older boy jog down the stairs.

Jin spent his entire break searching, and still didn't find her. He was on the way out of the school building when pattering footsteps and a female voice caught up to him.

"Jin-senpai!"

He whirled, but the smile of relief instantly melted at the sight of the blushing, panting girl. It wasn't her. Still, he heard himself say, "How may I help you?"

Her blush deepened. Drawing herself up straighter the girl stammered, "My name is M-Miki. Toyotama Miki..."

Jin deflated. He knew where this was going. Adrenaline pumped crazily inside him. His palms itched. He could barely keep himself from tapping his foot in impatience. He had no time for confessions now. He had to find Shizuka. Thunder rumbled. His eyes flickered to the glass doors of the lobby. Rain pelted down on it in sheets. He could barely see beyond it. Again the thoughts raced inside his mind: Did she find shelter in time? What if she got caught in the rain? What if the downpour got so bad she'd have to return to class a draggled mess? What if. What if.

Anxiety flashed in his eyes. He turned back to the girl. She was pouring her heart out to him, but Jin barely understood her words. A little part of him managed to feel sorry for her.It must be so terrible to not be listened to. To not be understood.

Like he was most probably misunderstanding Shizuka. Because then, why else would she run from him? It didn't make sense. But he couldn't remember doing anything wrong. Was she sulking because he hadn't been able to give her his time for the past few days?

No. She wasn't like that. Shizuka had too much sense to understand that basketball was important to him. And maybe, he wished with no small amount of hope, she thought for a fleeting moment too that she was growing to become as important to him as basketball.

"S...senpai?" The little voice wavered, uncertain. He had been shaking his head.

"I'm sorry," he breathed, trying to sound firm yet gentle, all the while pretending he had been listening to her. What was her name again? "Um...Miku-chan..."

"It's Miki, senpai."

He caught himself. Did he just say Miku-chan out loud? "Sorry," he apologized again. "I'm bad with names..." But one look at the poor girl's face and he knew he had blown it. She wasn't buying his excuse.

"It's all right, senpai. I didn't know...you had someone else in mind already." She clasped her hands together behind her and tried to put on a brave smile. "But thank you for listening."

The first thing he thought of when his admirer walked away was that finally, finally, he could get back to looking for Shizuka. But his hand was barely on the front doors when the air split with the urgent ringing of the bell. Break was over. Jin let out a frustrated sigh as he trudged back to his classroom.

He missed her again.

~010101~

She was waiting at their new favourite spot after class, sulking against the gym wall behind the sideline benches. A textbook lay spread out over her lap, and she was, miraculously, reading it.

"Hello, Shizuka-san."

The book snapped shut. She looked up uncomfortably. "H-Hi."

Jin passed her a pack of crackers, which she accepted but only toyed with. He sat down beside her. The empty gym loomed above them like the too-big shell of a too-small baby bird. Every little sound bounced off the walls only to be blown outside the window into the nippy autumn air. Jin waited for her to speak. Shizuka sighed at last.

"Senpai probably wants an explanation for...earlier today."

"Not if you don't want to tell it to me."

"I don't," she admitted. "Unfortunately, I feel that I have to. Because it concerns Senpai. Sort of." Her fingers tightened their grip on the edge of her History book. Then she passed it to him. "Open it." Jin did, and found the envelope. "It's...for you."

He turned it over. The flap wasn't even sealed. "Can I read it here?"

She shrugged. The gesture made her look worn out. Pushing her book off her lap, she sank further down the wall, staring at her hands as he perused the letter. She only looked up again when he slipped the letter back into the envelope. His expression was indecipherable.

"I didn't write that. It's from a classmate. Fujiwara Naomi. She asked me to pass it to you yesterday."

His expression cleared. The envelope vanished into his blazer pocket. "Oh. Fujiwara-san seems like a nice girl."

"You should tell her that to her face." Being a confession note messenger was so not her profession of choice.

Jin scrutinized her. Had he said something wrong? He thought she was jumpy earlier because she'd been embarrassed about having to pass the note to him. But now that that was over and she still looked listless, he ran out of rational explanations. That was until he looked down and saw her clasped hands trembling. The light once again flickered on over his head. She was hungry.

"You really should eat. I don't want you passing out on the way home." Obediently, she tore open the packet and nibbled on a cracker. But she still looked downcast. Jin was at a loss. "What's the matter?" he finally asked.

"I just sort of wish I..." She stopped. She wished she were the one who wrote the note. But only people like Naomi Fujiwara had the right to pen love notes like that. Others, like her, would only make fools out of themselves.

"You just sort of wish you...?"

Shizuka shook her head, suddenly remembering something. "Aren't you supposed to go run up to the rooftop now, Senpai?"

"I should?" he blinked.

She straightened up. Here was something she could coach her clueless senpai on. After all, she thought with no small amount of pride, one did learn useful things from manga. "You know? The rooftop meeting after reading confession letters so you could rush into each other's arms and proclaim undying love? It's traditional."

Jin scratched the back of his head, looking very lost. "I...I wasn't aware of that tradition."

"Well now you are! So go run up and meet Naomi-san!"

His reply was a mildly amused look. "She must have expected me yesterday, not today."

Shizuka's authoritative expression slipped off her face. "O-oh. Right. I was...supposed to hand it over...yesterday. Yes-ter-day." No wonder Naomi looked so upset that morning. "Oops."

Jin chuckled. "Even then, I suppose I wouldn't leave you here all alone just to meet up with Fujiwara-san."

A tingle of pleasure danced inside her belly. "Really?"

"Someone has to make sure you're eating."

The tingle shot up to her head in a blush. Shizuka held out her cracker.

He bit into it.

~010101~

"I'll wait outside," Shizuka said, holding open the door to the basketball club room. Jin was loaded down with all sorts of equipment and files, but he managed to smile over the pile at her.

"Domo. I won't take long, then." And he ducked into the room. He wasn't gone long before a dreaded figure with a thundercloud for a head stalked down the long corridor. Shizuka spun around, pretending to examine the pictures on the club bulletin board. But when the footsteps halted right behind her, she couldn't help growing rigid.

"You." Naomi's voice was low, hissy, and absolutely cold. "Traitor."

Shizuka turned slowly around. "Me?" she squeaked. "Are you talking to me?"

"Do I look like the type to have an imaginary friend?"

She turned completely. "Imaginary friends work wonders for one's imagination! I used to have one until eighth grade–"

"You didn't give the letter to Jin-senpai, did you?" Naomi demanded, face black with fury.

"I did. I even told him about...the rooftop tradition."

"To hell with your stupid traditions! You gave him the letter and then seduced him! You little witch! Admit it! You seduced him!" With a half scream, Naomi threw her hands up in frustration and marched away, furious.

Shizuka watched her go, and then hurried to stand in front of a nearby fire extinguisher's glass window, turning her head this way and that. "I'm seductive? Naomi-san must be able to tell..."

Jin chose that moment to emerge from the club room. "Shizuka-san, shall we... What are you doing?" whereupon his companion shot him her sweetest smile and batted her eyelashes at him. "Um...Did I miss something?"

Her shoulders slumped, and heaving a great big sigh, Shizuka dragged herself back to his side. "Naomi-san was wrong. I'm not seductive at all. But how can Naomi-san be wrong about such things? Senpai." Jin suddenly found himself staring back at a pair of large, now blue, but grey yesterday, eyes. "Help me find the answer. Am I seductive?"

Heat instantly flushed his face. Jin stuttered without meaning to. "Eh?"

**~010101~**

**A/N: Please review! ^^**

**space: Waiii! First review! Thank you very much! XD Now that you pointed it out, there were a pretty lot of characters. I put them there to sort of set the scene right. Didn't mean to confuse you. Gomen. I hope I'll be able to use the staff sometime in the future.**

**Shizuka's (Miku's) large difference in character was intentional. People working in maid cafe's are supposed to be cosplaying fictional characters with made-up back stories. They step into somebody's shoes and roleplay to the hilt (hence all the innuendoes over maid cafes). They're not supposed to act as themselves, and even use fake names (that's why Miku became Shizuka in chapter 1). But yeah, I'll work on character consistency, too. Check that! ^^**

**About keeping it in the cafe (scratches head). I'll do my best. To be honest, I've never tried serving or at the very least, entering, a maid cafe before, so I can't be an expert on that. I did think about keeping the setting at the cafe, but Jin didn't seem to me to be the type to hang around places like that...which would make interaction pretty scarce. But now that they've known each other better, that could work. :)**

**Once again, thank you thank you! I'm still slogging my way through romance fics, so all your critiques are VERY helpful. Domo! :D**


	4. Chapter 3: Hot Chocolate?

**Chapter 3: Hot Chocolate?**

"Don't deny it, Jin-san," Kiyota fairly howled, jumping around his teammate as the older boy intently packed his basketball things back into his sports bag. "Someone heard Shizuka-san asking and you being unable to answer! Or should I say, silence means, yes?"

Laughter exploded around the general direction of the sideline benches. Practise over for the day, the members of the Kainan basketball team easily returned to their original, interrupted discussion. Courtesy of Kiyota Nobunaga. Of course.

"Don't be shy, Jin!" one of the boys called out, straightening from his end of the bench. "You blushed so hard when she called you 'Master'! You liked it, didn't you?"

Curious murmurs rippled throughout the ranks. The other boys, who had not yet heard of the story, listened eagerly as it was told. Chuckles dotted the narrative, and not a few thoughtful looks, all of which culminated into goofy grins.

"Do you think she'll mind if we call her Shi-chan next time?"

"I wouldn't do it if I were you," Kiyota butted in, malicious gaze fixed firmly on Jin. "Who knows how violent Jin-san can get when properly provoked?"

"Never mess with another's woman, was that it?"

Jin zipped his bag rather fiercely, which for the moment silenced the gossips. "Girls are not property and Shizuka-san certainly isn't mine," he said quietly, which statement was met with another round of raucous laughter.

"But you sure wish she were!"

He smiled, blandly. "I'm going to be late. See you guys tomorrow." And he pushed out of the locker rooms. The gym was empty save for Maki, who had just finished talking to their coach.

"Did Kiyota just turn the others into monkeys?" the captain asked with a mild smirk upon hearing the burst of noise from inside the locker rooms.

Jin smiled back. "Perhaps. But you won't find the conversation all that stimulating."

Maki lifted a brow. "Let me guess: maid uniforms and a certain somebody you've been seeing everyday."

"Add another item to your list of talents, Maki-san."

The older boy chuckled. "I thought it rather brave of Shizuka-san to ask what she did."

"She was just curious."

"Aren't all girls?" And with a heavy pat on the shoulder, Maki left Jin standing there staring after him.

~010101~

The sky was pitch black when he appeared at the door of the empty classroom he and Shizuka were to meet at. She sat at the farthest corner desk, near the window and was, to his surprise, engrossed in an English grammar book. Not wanting to disturb her he quietly made his way over and was just going to sit down when an unexpected brownout plunged them both into darkness.

Shizuka shrieked. A chair toppled over and the next thing Jin knew, she had run straight into him. With a small buzz, the lights flickered on again. Rain pelted down the windows.

She was still breathing heavily when she pushed away, pale with fright. Righting her chair, she plopped down and buried her head in her arms.

"Senpai," she giggled, still not looking at him but obviously morbidly amused over something, "tell the truth. You're a spy sent down from the Heavens aren't you?"

"That would be fun if it were true." He took the chair opposite her. A thin volume, black and red, peeked out from between the pages of her English book. Ghost stories.

Shizuka finally lifted her head. "How come every time I want to cheat on schoolwork when you're around, my plan backfires and I end up getting caught instead?"

"I don't know," he replied mildly, Maki's words still ringing in his ears. "Maybe I'm just that lucky to catch you every time?"

Making a face, she swept her book of horrors beneath a stack of homework. Jin scanned her English workbook. He looked pleased.

"You did your homework. And they're all correct. I'm impressed."

Flashing a victory sign at him, she beamed back. "Of course! A lot of tactic went into that. It took me two days to complete all ten items, but Okaasan and Ran-nii didn't suspect a single thing!"

An eyebrow arched. "Are we still talking about homework?"

"Hai, hai! English homework and my natural talent at being a tactician!"

"You did this all by yourself, didn't you?" his smile, he was sure, was disarming.

"Certainly! I made sure to ask Kaasan and Ran-nii only one question each, with an interval of two hours between every interrogation! And whenever they looked I opened The Count of Montecristo!"

Jin wanted to slap his forehead right then and there. "You didn't translate these yourself."

She looked appalled. "Certainly not! Why should I go through the trouble when there are two perfectly capable brains at home to exploit? I mean...if they don't notice the exploitation, that is..."

He sighed. Heavily. Wearily. "Shizuka-san..."

That silenced her. Her face fell. "I-I'm sorry," came the guilty whisper, so small that Jin forgot to be upset. "I've been bad."

"It's okay." It wasn't technically okay, but Jin felt like he had to say something non-accusatory. Shizuka shook her head, retrieving her notebook and picking up a pen.

"I'll do it over. By myself."

"You're not being punished," he said gently, and not with a little compunction.

"No," she agreed. "But Senpai's already busy with his own schoolwork and with basketball. I don't...I don't want to be an additional burden."

"Shizuka-san!" His tone was so vehement it made her start. She blinked at him, looking so remorseful Jin softened. "You're not a burden."

"But I'm additional work. You help me because you want extra credits," she pointed out, going back to flipping violently through her dictionary.

"Well...it was like that at first," he admitted, biting his lip, "but it's not about extra credits anymore."

She stopped abusing the little book and looked up hopefully. "Really?"

He nodded. The best part about her was that she was one of those people who were so easily pleased. "I like spending time with you."

"I like spending time with Senpai, too," she replied shyly. And then, gathering up the nerve, she reverted to her confidential self and leaned forward. "Would you like to hear a secret? You can't tell it anyone though, because I might get fired from my job."

"I don't have to drag you down to police station, do I?" he grinned, recognizing her mood and drawing closer.

"Nope." A bit of pink stained her cheeks.

"Let's hear it then."

She half stood; shifting so far forward she was practically whispering in his ear, "Jin-sama is my favourite master."

He drew back, surprised and not just a little pleased. "I didn't think I was all that interesting."

"But Miku-chan liked you a lot." The soft pink turned into a becoming scarlet. "See, other customers come in so wrapped up in their fantasy world and expect us to know exactly what they're thinking, so that we're all afraid to be even just slightly off-character. But with Jin-sama Miku-chan doesn't have to worry about playing a role. Jin-sama makes Miku-chan feel like she can be...Miku-chan. And that's why she thinks Jin-sama is the best master in the whole world!"

It was the first time they talked about their first meeting outside the master-maid context. His mind reeled. Who did that confession belong to? Shizuka, or Miku-chan? One look at her smiling face reminded him, for a fleeting moment, of the little maid he met on his birthday. Either one of them was telling him now that she liked him, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out who. And in the back of his mind, he thought that maybe...he didn't want to find out just yet.

The lights died again, though only for a few seconds. The distant humming of the generator grew silent, and then the electricity came back on. When he looked again Shizuka was bent over her homework, all signs of having just admitted Miku's secret gone. Realizing that he was still bent over the desk Jin straightened, and then turned his eyes towards the window. While he had been engrossed in a confession, the pounding rain had softened. He was only too surprised to see the fat drops turn into white, powdery fluffs. He blinked, and they were again fat drops of rain.

Shaking his head at last, Jin turned away. He had been working a little too hard lately. After all, weren't the Inter Highs looming up? Maybe he had been taxing himself beyond his limits and was finally beginning to hallucinate. Because the most important things that happened that night – the confession, and the snow – weren't real. They were all the products of an overworked mind. Unconsciously, he passed a hand over his face.

"Kirei, ne?" Shizuka suddenly said. His hand fell; he cocked his head questioningly at her. She was looking outside the window, chin resting on the back of her hand, smiling. And then she turned that smile to him. "But it's so fleeting. Snow very quickly turns back into water."

The grin he retuned was genuine, deviod without the old tiredness. He had not been hallucinating after all.

"Shizuka-san," he heard himself say, "It's late. I'll walk you home."

"But it's only seven. And we don't have an umbrella..." Then understanding dawned and a broad grin broke upon her face. She wasted no time putting books away and was ready to go at a moment's notice. Side-by-side, they walked down to the main lobby. The halls were dim and deserted. The only other bright spot of light on campus came from the top floor where the student council office was located.

"Ready when you are Senpai."

Grabbing each other's hands they pushed through the glass doors into the storm outside, their laughter carrying in the fierce wind.

~010101~

The night was so black it was hard to see anything. But the sounds of the sea rose up even through the downpour. Running her hands over the cold stone of the boardwalk wall, Shizuka tilted her head up and stuck her tongue out. Tiny drops pattered on her tongue. Beside her, she heard Jin chuckle.

"Senpai should try it."

He threw her a skeptical glance, and then tentatively followed. Pretty soon they were making a ridiculous picture. Jin was the first to stop. Shizuka laughed.

"Are we being watched?"

"N-No," he stammered. "But what we just did..."

"Was childish," she finished, clutching the edge of the wall as she rocked backwards on her heels and shook her wet hair. "So? It was liberating. And it wasn't a crime."

He gave her a second, more appraising look. Then, raking a hand through his hair, Jin quietly observed, "It must be nice...to be able to live like you do."

His companion instantly righted herself. "But it must be nicer to be Senpai."

"You live freely, Shizuka-san." Their eyes met.

"Senpai is loved by everyone."

He was the first to tear his gaze away. A wry smile tugged on the corner of his lips. "Perhaps." And then, "We've been out long enough. I'll walk you home." He began to walk away without turning to check up on her. Shizuka felt a flutter inside her. Had she just crossed an invisible line? She couldn't dwell on it for long, though. Splashing into puddles, she jogged to her senpai's side. He smiled down at her. She smiled back. It didn't feel too right.

They walked to her house in silence. Well, Jin walked in silence. Many times, Shizuka wanted to skip ahead of him and dance in the rain, but one peek at the tall figure instantly subdued her. A part of her longed to ask if he liked the rain, but another, more dominant part, told her she ought to hold her tongue.

"Cold?"

His voice roused her. She had been unconsciously hugging herself, rubbing her arms in an effort to keep warm. "Ie!" A flash of an uncertain smile and she was down the sidewalk, some couple of metres ahead of him. Veiled by the rain, she allowed herself to shiver. Jin-senpai had always been easy to hang around with, but he felt changed tonight, in an invisible way she couldn't quite put her finger on. The idea left her a little cold on the inside.

She had been walking alone for several self-absorbed minutes when a sudden grab at her wrist had her stumbling several steps backwards in surprise. "S-Senpai?"

He didn't say anything – barely even looked at her – but tugged her down the street after himself, his grip just a little too strong. Even as Shizuka jogged to keep pace with him, Jin did not slow his steps. In fact, he didn't even notice her exertions until they had cleared the block and Shizuka was gasping with the cold and panting for him to stop.

"Gomen." A shake of the head and the dark atmosphere clinging to him seemed to disperse. He waited until she caught her breath again then turned to start back down the street.

Shizuka tore her wrist from his grasp.

"We're near your place, aren't we?" His voice was dull. The chill inside her grew almost icy. But she loved him. She claimed to have loved this imposing, romantically rain-drenched figure before her ever since her last year of middle school. She mustn't be frightened by a change of mood.

"Senpai, there's no one at my house." The admission had heat crawling up from the pit of her stomach, but not the warm and fuzzy kind of heat. It was the kind of heat that would, when drawn out, bring bitter bile with it. She swallowed. "I want to make sure, before we go on, while we're still out in public and a roving policeman could hear me if I chose to scream...that you're really Jin-senpai, and not a psychotic doppelganger. Because my mom...she's hemophobic. And it wouldn't be very nice for her to go home and find me dead and someone who looks like you bathed in my blood. So...yeah. I'll ask you again: are you Jin-senpai?"

He didn't move. But his shoulders relaxed and when he turned he was even chuckling a little. "Bathing in blood was supposed to render one young forever, wasn't it?"

Her eyes widened.

A grimace. "You and my sister share the same morbid taste."

She laughed. Sheepishly. Reassuredly. "It gets under your skin, doesn't it?"

"Has you reaching for the lights for weeks," he agreed, and held out a hand. "Shall we go?"

Latching onto him was a learned reflex. They continued on their way walking just a little closer than before, but just as silently. Jin's fingers were wrapped tightly around her hand, but Shizuka had the feeling that it wasn't because he wanted to make sure she stayed where he could see her. When she snuck a look up at him she sensed that there was something he was terribly afraid of. Something...more than a kitchen cleaver and a midnight murder.

~010101~

Jin was no good in the kitchen. This she observed when the whistling kettle made him jump and flutter about in half-panic. It was funny until he got back some of his sense and snapped the stove off. The whistling died down. He stared at the kettle, and then warily looked away to throw her a questioning look. "What next?"

"Pour the water." She tapped the mugs on the counter. Jin nodded, setting about his task so solemnly she was reminded of a child who was too eager to please. But the expression suited his innocent face, especially the proud look that spread as soon as the piping water swirled and thickened into hot chocolate.

"Senpai," Shizuka began, dropping marshmallows distractedly into the mugs, "Why did you insist so much on helping me make hot chocolate?"

"Because I didn't know how to do it," was the simple reply, and Shizuka paused in the middle of dropping the tenth marshmallow into Jin's mug to look at him.

"For real?"

"Yes. For real." He swiped his mug, internally wincing at the half-melted blobs that had begun to sheet over the steaming liquid. Shizuka popped a marshmallow into her mouth, chewed thoughtfully, and began bombing her own mug.

"But making hot chocolate isn't any grand feat you have to learn." Her marshmallows began to form a floating squishy mountain. She poked the top. The marshmallow glacier submerged, then floated back up, chocolate-coated. She rummaged for a spoon.

"Every little thing you learn is another feather in your cap." While she was busy poking her head into kitchen cabinets, Jin turned the box of hot chocolate mix over, nearly laughing out loud at the paper taped to the front of it. He flipped the individual packets and, to his greater amusement, found the same picture scrawled over the front of every single one. "Anti...Shizuka signs?"

The thud was the sound of her head banging hard against the cabinet frame. "Ite...Senpai shouldn't have seen that. Itete..."

"Cute. Looks a lot like you," he chuckled at her distorted caricature. Enclosed in a red ring, the silly picture had a similarly angry red line bisected across it. "Are you allergic to chocolate?"

"No." Still rubbing the back of her head, Shizuka toed the cabinet shut. "My parents are allergic to _me_ when I'm high off chocolate." She stabbed the spoon into her marshmallow. It bounced back. "Drat. Let's take this to the den. It's too cold in here."

Jin was only too happy to comply. As Shizuka couldn't lend him any more than a towel, he still wore his splendidly sodden uniform. There was no helping his waterlogged blazer, which had to come off, so he ended up having to keep himself as warm as he could in a damp button-down and slacks. The toasty den was a more than welcome sanctuary.

Shizuka instantly curled up on the window seat, bare feet tucked under the ruffled hem of her long, Victorian-style nightgown. Jin had a suspicion it was the real antique thing. He chose to stand before her, leaning against the wall as he stared out into the greyness beyond the window.

"Your house is so lonely when it's empty."

"Isn't yours?"

"Not with Erika and her heavy metal music pounding down the hallway." He sank down opposite her.

"Erika?"

"My sister."

She let this sink in. "Senpai...is hardly ever alone, is he?"

His mouth opened, a refutation ready at the tip of his tongue. But when he paused to think about it he saw that she had guessed right. He nodded. She looked pensive.

"I've been meaning to ask... No. Forget it."

"I don't mind," Jin said just as quietly, seeking her hand, holding it with the same firmness of grip as he did before. She edged closer to him.

"The rain. Does Senpai like...the rain?"

Indecision flickered in his eyes then, "No." His gaze lowered. "I don't care for the rain."

"You're scared of it?"

"I _hate_ it. Now more than ever." His hold tightened even more, and he hunched over slightly. Shizuka's throat constricted in dread but she shifted to her knees before him.

"Why?"

The word was a needle dropping in eternal stillness. Jin's motionless body shuddered as he raked in a breath. His other hand came up to enclose her small one between both of his. After that one inhalation he seemed to cease breathing altogether, and Shizuka waited in tense anticipation.

"Because every time I think it doesn't matter, it has to prove me wrong. It has to remind me...of an unpleasant experience," he finished abruptly, freeing her hands. Taking a few moments, he was soon able to look up again as his usual, eternally smiling self. "The oldest memories are the ones that twist themselves the most. But they're long over. We'd best not dwell on them anymore."

His tone was pleasant, but uncompromising. Shizuka mentally sent him an apology. Jin's eyes roved over the den, searching for anything that could open a new topic of conversation. As much as he wasn't used to being the talkative one, sitting in dumb silence seemed more ominous than trying to be conversational. His attention landed upon a framed poster of two people in decidedly anime historical costuming.

"How'd you get your parents to let you hang up your posters in the den?" he asked with a small bit of awe. The first time he asked his mother about putting up his NBA poster in the living room would be the first and the last time he did.

"They wanted to hang it up. And it's not a poster. It's a photo. Rei-nii and me." She had a feeling he was getting edgy. He stood to cross the room.

Instinct kicked in and she jerked up, throwing herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Don't pretend. Senpai doesn't have to be perfect in front of me. You don't have to try so hard. I'll keep Senpai's weaknesses a secret. If you need to be human you can do so...with me."

Under her arms his muscles tensed, then Jin collapsed back onto his seat. She gathered him to herself, let her hero cling to her as he coaxed control back into his system.

"The best thing I like about Senpai..." Her touch was hot against his damp shirt. "...is Senpai." Jin stirred.

"In the classroom you said...you as Miku said..."

"That I like you a lot," she confessed, her cheeks pinking. "I like you as Jin-sama and as Jin-senpai both. Jin-Senpai was the reason I chose to go to Kainan instead of to a specialized high school..."

He pulled back, and the next thing she knew she was lying down pressed against the cushions with him hovering over her. "I wasn't always loved by everyone," came the murmur against her lips, and her eyes widened further at the whimper hidden at the back of his throat. "But you understand, don't you? Shizuka-san?"

He tasted like chocolate. His breath was all chocolate – bittersweet. Being so close to him weakened her defences. Having his damp hair brushing against her cheek crushed it completely. She ran her hands over his chest. "I understand."

"I thought you would."

Something about that line struck her as odd, but Shizuka shoved the thought away in the face of more urgent matters. The uncertain heat at the pit of her stomach melted the ice of her uncertainty as she held him closer, forgetting everything but the feel of his mouth upon hers, and his gentle hands in her hair.

"I love you...senpai."

_I thought you would._ He kissed her again, desperately, and the only witness was the pair of mugs on the deep windowsill, steam still coiling from their chocolate depths.

**~010101~**

**A/N: uhm...surprised? I think I've finally discovered the secret side of Jin that I can work with. Didn't intend to make this too dark, but I wrote it after reading a book review of **_**Goth**_**, a psychological horror book. Oh, the aura of darkness. **

**More importantly though, the tables are turned now, and Shizuka's love has not become unrequited. However, it remains to be seen whether Jin's feelings are the ones she's expecting. :D I don't know about my readers, but I like this darker side of him. Funny how a pinch of gothica brings out a deeper sense of humanity. :) **

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 4: Two Masters

**Chapter 4: Two Masters**

Shigure prided himself on being a simple man. He was pleasant and easy to get along with. He knew what he wanted, loved what he loved, and valued his family and his friends. When it came to private affairs, he was most definitely certain of himself. His eyes were set on one person. While that certain person did not seem to be able to read the meaning behind his acts peppered with his own brand of special kindness, he was positive that that inability would soon be no more than the dust of the past.

It had been raining continuously for a week now. Activity at the cafe had mellowed down as well. The regulars perhaps could not be bothered to brave the downpour. What customers Kiss Cafe had were first-timers who, previous to the need to duck into the nearest available shelter, had never entertained the thought of whiling away a few hours at the cafe. What was previously lively, boisterous entertainment had turned into separate tables of hushed talking.

When the gloomy sky had blackened and the last master seen on his way out, Shizuka heaved a great sigh. "We're not a themed cafe. We're _not_ _just _a themed cafe!" she spat out the last words with great distaste. "We're a maid cafe. There's art in there!"

Ai, the head maid, offered a weak smile. "The masters' and the mistresses' comfort comes above everything else, Shi-chan."

"But life isn't the same without moe! Why do the rainy masters and mistresses shun moe, Ai-neechan!?" adorable little Arisa wailed. "Isn't it our duty to show them the better side of life?"

"The rain should stop soon, Arisa-chan," Shigure spoke up from his little territory – the coffee bar. "Before you know it, your beloved sunny masters and mistresses will be back singing the songs of moe," he laughed.

Shizuka attempted to add to the complaint, remembered something, and instead chose to shut her mouth. She waltzed into the back room, reappeared with a dishcloth, and began wiping down tables with a bursting smile on her face.

"Our little princess sunshine isn't disappointed anymore," Shigure teased. He didn't miss the pink that blossomed across her cheeks. "What's going on? Anything special happening today?"

Shizuka stiffened, and then shook her head violently. She stared hard at the table she was working on, scrubbing like there was no tomorrow.

"You can tell me~"

"I...I just decided that I like the rain, after all. It's...um...rain...y..." She flushed darker, hunched over, and was about to scurry to wipe down a neighbouring table when she was stopped by a red rose. Shizuka blinked; raised her eyes. Shigure grinned at her.

"It would be an honour to brighten my princess' day with a freshly bloomed rose."

The blush faded. Shizuka stared from the rose, to Shigure, and back. At last, she burst out in a fit of laughter. "That's precious, Gure-san! I wish I could come up with lines right on the spot, like you do!" She started working on the next table, Shigure trailing behind her. "Gure-san is so talented! I wish I could spend one day watching you work. Maybe then the masters will see my potential for greatness!"

Shigure's rose seemed to droop a little. He drooped right along with it. Shizuka didn't notice. In fact, nobody except for Asuo, the head butler, did. And all serious old Asuo said was, "Floor duty today, Shigure."

He really heaved a sigh then.

His chance came at the very end of the workday, when everyone was preparing to leave. Shizuka emerged from the changing rooms with her bags in tow and the keys to the cafe dangling from her hand.

"Take care, Shi-chan! If anything comes up, you have me on speed dial!" One great big hug, and Ai prepared to sashay out the door with the others. Shizuka just stood in the dim cafe, smiling and waving goodbye.

"Don't you have to be home soon, too, Gure-san?" she said when he watched his co-workers venture into the rain and closed the door behind them.

Shigure locked the back door, dropped his backpack on a chair behind the coffee bar, and began fiddling with the machines. "I'll keep you company."

"But I'll be all right! There's no need to trouble..." she trailed off at his smile.

"Didn't you say you wanted to learn how to make Kiss Latte?"

"Oh!" she brightened instantly, dropping her things and clambering up on a bar stool opposite him. "You'll teach me?"

"I said I would, didn't I?"

She beamed at him and Shigure's heart skipped a beat. For a minute he forgot how to begin. His hands seemed to be scattering themselves uselessly on every coffee-making implement nearby until they found themselves atop a bag of coffee grounds.

"Start with espresso," he said, suddenly remembering.

Shizuka watched him fill the machine with coffee and water. Shigure looked so at ease, as if he had been brewing coffee all his life. She leaned forward, chin in palm. "Ne, Gure-san, how long did it take you to figure out Kiss Latte?"

"Not very long," he said.

"Because you've been making coffee forever?"

When Shigure first appeared at the Kiss Cafe – before Shizuka signed up for a job – he had already had a flair for coffee. Ever since he began running the coffee bar, the scent of freshly brewed coffee had become a permanent addition to the Kiss Cafe smell. He was a bit of a coffee junkie; everybody knew that.

"The secret ingredient of Kiss Latte isn't really such a big secret, Shizuka-chan."

"Is it a really hard secret?"

"Hm...No, I don't suppose so."

"So it's not true what Arisa said that it took you three hundred cups of coffee to perfect Kiss Latte?"

Shigure snorted. The idea was truly an Arisa special. Only she could think of such ridiculous notions. And only Shizuka would believe her. Sweet, trusting Shizuka.

"Not _entirely_ true," he replied. The espresso was ready. "Kiss Latte really isn't all that difficult to make. Just make sure you have enough coffee to your water and –" he began steaming the milk, "– lots of froth. The more the merrier." A jet of frothy white poured into the waiting stainless steel cup. Shigure found a delicate little Italian cup, poured in the steaming milk, added the espresso, swirled the froth around, added some more, and topped it off with a dusting of cinnamon.

He presented the cup to Shizuka, leaning on the counter just a hairsbreadth away from her. "Have you figured out the secret?"

"No." She couldn't take her eyes off the triple heart design floating on her cup of coffee.

"The secret ingredient is love. I put it in every cup I make, equally. But in this one –" he nodded at her cup, "– I put in three times more, because it's special."

At last her head jerked up. Their eyes met. Shigure didn't know what to make of her stare, but he knew that if he didn't say what he needed to say, he might never get another chance as good as the one he presently had. So he swallowed his uncertainty and plowed forward.

"I want to make you happy, Shizuka-chan. I know I can."

She blinked; looked away. The moment was lost. Shizuka retreated, her hands folding themselves on her lap instead. "I am...happy, Shigure-san."

No. She was frightened. She wouldn't look at him. He panicked. What had he done wrong?

"I-I like you," he blurted out, looking at her averted face with all earnestness. "I have liked you for so, so long, Shizuka-chan, and I wish we could be...more than friends."

For the longest time, she didn't say anything. And then, through the rain, three taps. Starting, she whirled around, gasped "Senpai!", caught herself, and reddened. Shigure straightened up. He tried to see through the foggy glass but could only discern a vaguely familiar figure. Before him, Shizuka was scrabbling to collect her things.

"I have to get going, Gure-san. S-Senpai is here. He promised to walk home together..." the tips of her ears were so red Shigure would have thought it cute if he weren't so busy sorting the emotions roiling inside him. "Thank you for showing me how to make Kiss Latte . I'll – I'll practise a lot. Your time won't be wasted, I promise!"

Her words slipped right though his ears unheard.

"Ah! I'll help you clean up! Gure-san... Gure-san?"

He looked down. Shizuka was waving a hand in his face. He felt suddenly drained of energy, but it wasn't good practise to show that to the ladies. He managed a smile. "I can manage. Go on ahead. Your Senpai's been waiting in the rain..."

She squeaked, torn between the front door and helping to lock up.

"I'll finish here," Shigure heard himself saying. "And I can drop by Ai-san's place on my way home. I'll give her the keys then."

"Well..."

"It's perfectly all right. Princesses shouldn't stay out too late." A wink, and Shizuka was won over. She smiled gratefully.

"I owe you one, Gure-san! Good night!" And then she was off. They shared an umbrella. A face flashed in Shigure's mind; a face from several months ago. He went over to the front door; locked it. Suddenly exhausted, he sank down on the floor and heaved another great sigh – his second that night.

Jin Soichiro was the worst thing he crossed paths with.

**~010101~**

**A/N: Took advantage of the night and the growing need to write. It's been SO long I've practically forgotten how to write! T^T **

**Not much of a chapter, but it spotlight on Shigure! I love writing love triangles! Heehee~ **

**Now that the relationships are rooted, the development can begin! I'm excited too because I'm currently working on two new cosplays, so there's something relate-able I have with Shizuka! I hope to see more of Jin in the next chapters~~**

**For comments, critiques, and suggestions, please feel free to drop me a line. I don't bite, and comments are always welcome! ^^ Happy summer!**


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